Death in the Family
by softball34
Summary: What happens when Steve dies and the team is left to fill the void? But is he really dead?
1. Prologue

They were at least a hundred people there. The turnout was shocking, I never knew that he had known this many people, in all of the time that I had known Steve McGarret he had never proven himself to be even the slightest bit social. As was expected nearly every single one of them

was crying. Devestated at the loss of a man they probaly didnt know that well, but you didn't really need to know him to mourn him. They all told stories about how Steve had touched their lives in some sort of way, whether it was through his reckless ways or some caring gesture he had

helped each and every one of these people in some sort of way. Minutes after some women I didn't know spoke about how Steve saved not only her life but her infant daughters i rose to make my speech. I climbed up to the podium, taking a deep breath I stared up into the bright sun for

a moment before I began to speak. Preparing myself for the inevetable i opened my mouth,

"Steve was a good friend of mine I didn't know him for long but as many of you know we were partners. He was reckless always charging into situations without a plan, but that's what he did, it's who he was. He would sacrifice anything to keep the people he cared for safe, because of

that I always thought he would go in a blaze of glory doing something that he loved more than anything. I can probably speak for all of us in saying that none of us expected for Steve to go in something as normal as a car accident, especially me I always saw him as more immortal than

human. Nothing could take him down because he was such a hero figure. We all saw him in a different way hero, savior, protector, brother, boyfriend, but most of all he was a loyal friend. We will cherish the few memories we have with him. Thank you"

I walked off the podium pausing for a minute to touch Steve's coffin. Trying to be close to him one last time. I felt tired, defeated, sad, like the world should just end. If Steve could die in a mere car accident what was going to happen to the rest of us mere mortals. He wasn't meant to go

like this, he was supposed to have control of everything. Live for a hundred years and threaten the sanity of everyone he knew, i had expected to die before him considering the number of times he had gotten me shot. I sat back down next to Kono and Chin. Both trying to hold back

tears, we sat together. Our family. Minus the person who kept us together. We were all just trying to get this over with so we go home and mourn in peace and try to ignore reality for a few days.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of apologies and tears. I lost count of everyone I talked to nothing seemed important anymore, the only thing getting me through the day was the promise of my own home. Only there could i try to forget the events of the past few days and the death

of another one of my partners. My bestfriend.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 1

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^* Chapter Two *^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

Four days earlier

The incessant ringing of the phone had woken me up at eight AM. In my opinion far too early to be woken up on a Saturday morning, my first instinct was to grab the phone and let it rip automatically knowing it would be Steve.  
"You know Rambo some of us need a full 12 hours of sleep before a) we go catch a villain who will shoot at us or...mainly me or b) I let you drive my very expensive car which you will then proceed to ding in some way plus its Saturday s - "  
"I'm sorry to interrupt sir, but I'm not Rambo, or whoever you're talking about can I assume I'm talking to Danny Williams?"  
"Ummmm maybe depends who you are. "I stopped slightly embarrassed.  
" My name is Anne from Hawaii General Hospital I'm calling about Steve McGarret...your his emergency contact correct?"  
"Unfortunately. What did Rambo do this time, jump out of a burning building just for the thrill or take on a group of terrorists by himself?"  
"I'm not at liberty to give you that information until you come up here Mr. Williams, if you can't make it I'm sure I can find someone else who will wait for word on him"  
I paused seriously considering making someone else go up there and get him. After all I knew from experience that collecting Steve from the hospital was like threatening a rabid dog, and I desperately wanted the extra sleep. Making my decision, I put the phone back to my ear.  
"I'll be there, there's no need to wake anyone else up at such an ungodly hour."  
"Okay thank you Mr. Williams come to the information desk on the fourth floor when you arrive for further information."  
"Thanks."

I clicked my phone shut before climbing out of bed. My feet touching the ice cold floor made me want to curse Steve for whatever he had done to force me out of bed.

Ten minutes later I pulled into the parking lot, and made my way up to the fourth floor. I found the desk fairly easily. No one was there; I tapped on the desk losing myself in my thoughts, _what if Steve was seriously hurt? The thought hadn't crossed my mind, after all it was eight thirty what could he have possibly done this ear-_

"Hello…Hello! Sir Do you need something?" someone's voice pulled me out of my rambling, looking up I realized that it must be the women on the phone.  
"Oh Hi, I'm looking for Steve McGarret you called me earlier this morning about him."

She plopped down at her computer pushing her glasses up her nose, and started typing; she looked up after a couple of seconds. The epitome of a professional.  
"Mr. McGarret is currently in surgery; apparently he was in a car crash you can wait in the six floor waiting room for word on his condition."

She looked up at my stunned face already preparing to answer my next question, opening her mouth she said,  
"I'm sorry Sir I don't have any more information on how serious his condition is."

I mumbled a brief thanks and somehow managed to make my way up to the waiting room, it was fairly empty. Apparently only my idiot partner was the only one stupid enough to get himself into a car crash this early in the morning.

After two hours of waiting it was just beginning to seep in that Steve could die. I didn't know how serious the crash was, and I had no idea how long he had been in surgery before I got here. I waited for what seemed like all day but what were only a few hours for word on Steve

I thought about texting Chin and Kono but decided that I would only once I got information on Steve's condition. No use getting everyone all riled up until I knew all of the facts. I leaned my head back against the back of the wall, and closing my eyes tired from my lack of sleep and told myself I would only rest my eyes

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I was waking up to someone shaking me on the shoulder,

"Excuse me sir."

I jerked awake looking around for a minute before I realized where I was. I looked up into the face of a doctor, who was looking at me expectantly,

"I'm assuming you're here for Steve McGarret since you're the only person in here."

"Um yeah, how is he? Can I see him?" I said as I simultaneously tried to rub the sleep from my eyes.

"Were moving him into the ICU right now you can see him in a few minutes. To answer your other question he is in critical condition, he suffered several internal injuries which we successfully repaired, but the thing were most worried about is his head injury Mr. McGarret suffered from a fractured skull which caused a bleed in his brain. Because of this he fell into a coma and we are not sure if he will wake up again because he has minimal brain activity. The next forty eight hours will be critical."

I looked at her a shocked look on my face. I had never imagined him being so close to death, and the thought scared me.

"Are you saying he could be in a coma forever?"

She paused for a minute as if trying to find the right response,

"There's something else you should know Mr. Williams, Mr. McGarret didn't want to live in such a condition if it ever happened, in fact if he was ever to become brain dead he signed a form that stated he wanted to be taken off of life support. He didn't want to live like that"

She stopped for a minute then answered my next question; she must have done this a million times the way she read my face,

"If he doesn't show signs of brain activity in three days, then we usually don't see any improvement at all. This is the point where we will take him off life support."

"C-Can I see him now." I was to shell shocked to force anything else out of my mouth.

She laid a sympathetic hand on my shoulder trying to comfort me in whatever way she could,

"He's on the sixth floor, room number 236. Feel free to stay as long as you want as long as you're not disruptive."

I muttered quick thanks as I walked off and got into the elevator. I made my way to his room in a daze not believing what I had just been told. Steve could be **dead** in three days, and there was nothing I could do about it. I was completely powerless. I paused at the door bracing myself for what I was about to see.

I pushed the door open and walked in; the sight that greeted was almost more than I could bear. Steve might as well have been dead from the way he looked. Tubes snaking in and out of his body connecting to machines I couldn't imagine. There was a tube down his throat helping him breathe the whoosh of the ventilator one of the only noises in the room. This was the only thing keeping him alive. His life was dependant on a machine that could so easily fail him in every way.

I plopped down in the chair staring at what had become my partner for ten minutes, and probably would have all day unless my phone hadn't buzzed at me. I jumped at the sudden noise, pulling it out of my pocket I glanced at who the message was from not sure I really wanted to talk to anyone right now. It was Chin if if i didnt answer he would just keep bugging me, I clicked open

_Hey Danno were going to the beach want to come? _

It took me a moment to realize that I hadn't told them what was going on, I briefly thought about not telling them, sparing them the emotional pain for a little while longer but I knew if I didn't Kono would kick my butt when she found out. I sent a brief reply back.

**_Steve's in the hospital. ICU they don't know if he will make it. _**

It only took a minute for a reply

_We'll be there soon. What room?_

I sent back a brief reply then settled back in my chair to wait for them. I felt lost I didn't know what I would do if Steve died. He had become my best friend. Almost like a brother to me. If he died I would have to be the one to plan his funeral. Because of his sister's recent death he had no family left to his name. He would be a loner if it wasn't for our little makeshift family. If he died our family would fall apart.

I leaned my head back against the chair trying to look everywhere but Steve. I felt ashamed to be looking at him, I felt like I could have done something. Prevented it in some way. But I had been too busy worrying about myself to even consider that he could have been seriously injured.

_Why did the good die young. Especially Steve he was a hero he didn't deserve this. If anyone should have been in that accident it shou-_

_Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppppp_


	3. Chapter 2

_Thanks for all the reviews, i never expected so many people to be interested in this story, so thanks for giving me a reason to write. _

_Beeeeeeeeeeppppppppppp_

I started, jumping from my chair refusing to believe what I was hearing. I stared at the heart monitor nothing showing but a flat line. I was frozen in fear

As quickly as I had realized what was happening, so had the other half a dozen nurses and doctors who rushed in. They shoved me out the door closing the blinds, I was completely shut out. I couldn't see a thing, and even though I wasn't really sure I wanted to see what was going on in there I knew that I needed to. I needed that extra reassurance, that small possibility that everything was going to be okay.

I lowered myself into the chair laying my head in my hands I took a deep breath trying to calm myself, and for one of the first times in my life I felt the urge to pray. To just offer up everything I had, to try and get Steve out of this safely. Alive.

I waited and prayed for what felt like hours, but when I looked up at the clock only a minute had passed. I bowed my head again,

_Dear God if you're up there, honestly I'm not sure you are but if you are will you watch over Steve. He's the best thing that's ever happened to our little family. I don't know if you can hear me but please just watch over him. Keep him safe. _

"Mr. Williams."

I looked up into the face of Steve's doctor, and I could see it in her face. But I refused to believe it part of me was telling myself it wasn't true, maybe she was just sorry for another complication. I prayed for it, anything was better than dead. But I knew that look by heart; it was the same look I gave to families I had just told their child wasn't coming home.

"I'm sorry Mr. Williams there was nothing we could do. His heart stopped, there was just too much strain on it and we couldn't save him."

I slumped back my chair. This wasn't happening, it was all just some kind of sick dream that I was having after a stressful day at work. Obviously some sort of trauma had happened and this was how my brain was repairing itself. It was all just a dream.

Then the dream got all too real again as two figures ran up to me. Identical masks of worry on their faces.

"Danny what happened? Where he is?" I wondered if my face looked as worried as Kono's voice was.

"H-H-He's dead. His heart just stopped." I looked up at them. Trying to hold back the tears. To be strong, now that Steve was gone someone had to be. "I-I don't know what to do, how does someone like Steve just die? He's Rambo he can't die."

I was rambling, too caught up in my own pain to realize that Kono had sunk into a chair next to me. Her quit sobs pulled me out of my own shock. Chin was trying to comfort her, trying to hold back his own tears. I put my arms around her. We sat there for who knows how long, trying to help each other's misery any way we could. The doctors ignored us; it was probably a common sight to see families in the hall mourning the loss of a loved one. But this was too big of a loss to just ignore.

At some point I remember Chin pulling me and Kono into a cab and taking us home to his house. I had a feeling he didn't trust any of us alone, especially me. I had never handled tragedies well and this was the mother of all tragedies.

The rest of the night was spent in misery; somehow we all ended up on the couch telling our favorite stories about Steve. It didn't help the pain but it was all we could to honor the loss of a loved one. Eventually we all ended up asleep on the couch. I welcomed the oncoming darkness. Anything to get myself away from the emotional pain I was feeling. I drifted off into sweet sleep, thankful to forget everything for at least a couple hours before I would have to face reality.

A Day after Steve's Funeral

The day after a funeral is the worst feeling in the world. It's when the fact that your loved one is actually dead is starting to sink in. Before you can just pretend that nothing has happened that they might come back after all. But when you see that last remaining link to your best friend, its like he just died all over again. Then something comes along and knocks you off your feet and suddenly your left questioning if he really might come home this time, if it really is a dream. For me it had come in the form of a lawyer standing at my door with a packet of papers.

She had knocked on my door at nine in the morning. I hadn't been sleeping, hadn't really since Steve had died, so I had answered the door immediately.

"Mr. Williams I Presume?"

I was getting sick of people calling me that, every time they did something bad happened. I sighed,

"Yes, what do you want?"

"I'm Mr. McGarret's Lawyer; I'm just coming by to drop off his will and a few other things he left to you."

I took the manila folder in her hand, wondering what Steve could have possibly left me that I didn't already have. I thanked her and shut the door, not meaning to be rude, just impatient to view the contents of the folder. I opened it pouring the contents into my lap.

Several letters and documents fell out; the letters were all labeled one to Kono, Chin, Grace, and me. I picked up my letter first ripping it open, to impatient to bother finding a letter opener.

I unfolded it and started reading,

_Dear Danno,_

_**I** f your reading this I must be de**a**d. **O**bviously, why else would I write you a letter, I got the idea when **m**y dead was killed and all he left me with was a box of mysteries a**n**d no 'good byes' or even an 'I'll miss you son', I didn't want any of you guys to have to deal with that if I ever died, so here it is, my last good-bye. I left all of my stuff to you guys; after all since Mary died you guys have been my real family. Please don'**t** miss me, I know you Danny, if I died by the hands of some criminal I know that you would try to avenge my death. That's just **t**he way you are, but if I **d**ied in some other way don't blame yourself, I know I wouldn't. I need you to lead the team know get them through this, be strong for them and Graci**e**, she nee**d**s you. So there's my final good-bye, hopefully you won't ever have to read this, I know you not good with dealing with deaths. But thanks for being there for me when i needed you most, i consider you one of my best friends and i hope you do the same. _

_From your Friend,_

_Steve McGarret._

_Reviews are welcome, especially if anyone has any ideas about where this should go from her I havent started the next chapter yet._


	4. Chapter 3

_A.N - Sorry this was a little delayed, but I was grounded, and you know how that goes. Since it's a three day weekend I'll try to update with a longer chapter to make up for it. Anyway reviews are welcome, so are ideas. _

_What the hell. Even when Steves dead he's messing with me. Bold faced letters, how old did he think he was. Even when he's dead he can't just straight out tell me what he wants to say. It's always oh look I'm a SEAL I can leave these letters in a super secret code to you if you to know something super secret. _

_Honestly what the HELL is this supposed to mean._

_Iamntddoe _

The I'm part was obvious, I scratched those two off. That left antddoe, I shuffled them around and I stared at it a minute not believing what I was seeing- not dead – I'm not dead- what the hell, this had to be some sort of sick joke, I had seen steves body he had definitely been dead. I stopped; I hadn't seen Steve's body I had gladly given the task to the funeral home director, and had decided to have a closed casket figuring Steve wouldn't like people gawking at his cold, dead body. Well he probably would. I knew he had this sick obsession with creeping me out, and he would definitely be the sort to try to creep me out even when he was dead. But I didn't like dead people so I had firmly protested against an open casket. Something Steve must have planned for if he wasn't really dead. Damn he knew me to well.

"Oh fuck privacy"

I muttered under my breath, I ripped open Kono's, chins and Graces letter, feeling a little guilty about the last one. Skipping past all of the crap Steve probably gotten off the internet, I could just imagine him sitting there with the little template changing the names and dates.

I went through all of them picking out all of the bolded letters. I spent twenty minutes trying to figure out the whole message, in the end I finally came up with:

_I'm not dead go see cath she knows what to do 145 rainbow drive. _

I leaned back in my chair. Slightly stunned, but part of me had doubted all along whether he was dead or not, and this was just confirming those doubts. I started thinking about whether it was too early to disturb Cath at the moment. I decided it wasn't. I didn't have time to waste if I wanted to know what was going on. After all she had all of the answers.

I grabbed my keys, leaping into my car. I went ninety the whole way there, too impatient to bother worrying about the cops. Any ways I was one of them, I could pull the cop card right back into their smug little faces.

I needed to know what had happened. What had driven Steve to pretend to die? He would have known what his death would do to our family, wouldn't he? Whatever had driven Steve McGarret to this was no laughing matter. Thousands of thoughts were running through my head, each demanding attention. I blocked them all out, I didn't need the distraction. Focus on the task at hand, no time for unnecessary thoughts.

It didn't take me long to find her house, I had been there with Steve before on some Hawaiian barbeque thing she had been hosting. Wasting no time I leaped out of the car, ringing on the doorbell. I tapped my feet impatiently. Hopping up and down trying to channel my nervous energy.

"Danny?"

I stopped, turning around. Cath was laughing at me; I could see it in her eyes. She was too polite to outright laugh at me, but if I had opened the door to someone who was imitating a rabbit I would have laughed outright, screw being polite.

"Hey, Cath we need to talk." She nodded waving me inside. Already knowing what I was here for.

"I take it you got Steves message?"

"I did, I'm a little confused. Why did he fake his own death Cath, what good was it going to do. What did he fear so much that he was driven to this?"

"Umm, how should I explain this, "she paused, looking down at her hands. Fighting with herself on what she should say,

"I probably shouldn't tell you this. Steve told me not to, but Victor Hess is back. He threatened Steve with something he wasn't willing to risk. So he decided to fake his own death so he wouldn't have any leverage against Steve. If he can't see him hurting then Steve thought he wouldn't kill anybody. That's why he faked his own death."

"Who did Victor threaten? Who could possibly mean that much to Steve?"

"H-He threatened to kill you and Grace. You have to understand Danny, he sees Grace like the niece he's never had, and your family to him. He couldn't bear the thought of Victor killing you guys to."

I took deep breath, trying to shove down the nausea in my stomach. The thought of someone killing Grace-an innocent girl- made me want to puke, and then go kill the bastard. Or maybe in the opposite order.

"I wish I could be mad at him, but I'm not. I would have done the same thing. But where is he now?"

"You're not going to like this, but he's trying to track down Hess. Trying to get the upper hand on him when he least suspects it."

"Oh my God you can't be serious! That fucking moron, you let Rambo go out there alone. You do realize that when he's out there alone he goes psycho. There's no one to restrain him. Please tell me you at least know where he is."

"He calls me every hour. Were being careful Danny. In fact he should be calling any minute now….Speak of the devil."

The ringing of her phone kept me from going off on another rant. Putting it to her ear Cath was all business. I tuned them out, no use hearing a one side interrogation; she was off quicker than I had expected only twenty seconds according to my watch. Not enough time for me to make up a sound argument against this plan.

She sat the phone down gently, as if it were going to explode. Like she was trying to calm herself down. Taking a deep breath she opened her mouth,

"He's in trouble, but he won't tell me where he is."

"Trouble. Of course he's in trouble. You put a kid in a candy shop he's going to get in trouble. And right know Steves in the mother of all candy shops. He doesn't have me there to keep him out of trouble, and get shot at for him."

I grabbed her hand pulling her off the couch,

"Come on I know someone who can help us find him."

TBC…..


	5. Chapter 4

"Come on I know someone who can help us"  
"So, where exactly are we going….…Your secret lair."  
"Well, actually I'm not allowed to tell you where the secret lair is, Steve made me swear on my life. But I'm taking you somewhere even better, my house."  
She looked at me strangely,  
"Your house?"  
"Okay, well not my house, our headquarters. But with the amount of time Steve expects us to spend there it might as well be my house. Plus I think it's a lot nicer than my humble abode."  
"Okay, but what exactly do you have planned for once we find Steve, we don't even know what kind of trouble he's in."  
"Well first I'm going to get Chin to track him down, then I'm going to call him, and them I'm going to kick his big, bad SEAL ass for not telling me this was going on. Then I might hug him for trying to save my daughter's life."  
"I like that plan. Plus I think it's really hilarious that you're going to try to kick Steve's ass."  
"Ha-ha, you know I have done it before."  
"I'm sure he was just going easy on you. I've never seen Steve lose a fight, he's like a freaking ninja."  
'Ok, fine I might have caught him unaware. But were done trying to defend my honor, were here."  
"How do you know Chin will be here anyway?" she asked fixing me with a puzzled look, as she jumped out of the car.  
"People deal with stress in their own little way. Chin prefers to deal with stress by burying himself in work. "  
I preferred to deal with it, with witty humor, but I'm sure she had already figured that out.  
We were silent the rest of the way up to the offices. I was trying to figure out how I was going to tell Chin that Steve wasn't really dead, he was going to think I was insane. Probably not any different from any other day I expect. Someone should just invent a book of tactfully ways to tell someone that people weren't dead anymore and that you weren't clinically ins-  
"Danny? What are you doing here? And why is Cath here?"  
I looked up at Chin, a little startled at hearing his voice; I hadn't seen him walk into the room.  
"Uh, hey Chin. Ummm this is awkward…Yeah I'm not really sure how to tell you this but – "  
Cath cut in, somehow sensing that I wasn't going to be able to tell Chin what was going on anytime soon.  
"Oh for goodness sake just spit it out Danny, What he's trying to say Chin is that Steve isn't dead. He faked his own death."  
I'm not totally sure what reaction I was expecting to get from Chin but the one he gave shocked the hell out of me, just a brief nod of the head and, an I thought so. I stared at him stunned,  
"Wait, what the hell do you mean? You thought so. How did you figure it out?"  
"Victor Hess was at the funeral. At first I thought I was just crazy, and then I came back here today to watch the security footage of the funeral and I just now confirmed that it was him. I was just about to call you when you showed up."  
"Wait they have cameras in graveyards, why do dead people need security?"  
"They use them to protect against grave robbers. Why are you here anyway?"  
"Well I just figured out Steve wasn't dead, and then cath got a call from him saying he was in trouble-"  
"And being the typical McGarret he didn't tell you where he was." Chin said with a knowing sigh, finishing my sentence for me.  
"So we came back here hoping you could track his cell phone."  
"I'm on it."  
He walked back to his computer and messed with a few things he screwed around for a couple of minutes before he came back with an answer,  
"He's at an abandoned warehouse out by the old boarding docks. It's that one where we busted that drug lord two weeks ago."  
"So Danny I assume this is where you're going to call him sounding all pissed off, but really you're going to be really smug because you're about to go save his big, bad SEAL ass." Cath said with a knowing grin on her face.  
"Why of course Cath, I would hate to go blazing into this situation unprepared like someone else I know," I retorted, already typing the number into my phone. The phone only rang once,  
"Steve, seriously you picked up on the first ring. That's so unlike you."  
"Oh, it's the charming Mr. Williams. The man that Mr. McGarret is about to give up his life for, this is simply to perfect." My stomach sank. I knew that voice, it was permanently ingrained into my brain.  
"Hess. What do you want?"  
"Well, I want a lot of things Mr. Williams, but what I really want is Steve McGarret dead. I would have liked to have watched him suffer, but we can't all have what we want now can we. I assume you already have my location, so that's about fifteen minutes of fun for me to have with your precious partner, want to see what I can do with him in that much time?"  
"You bastard you're going to pay for this, I'm going to hunt you down and kill you if it's the last thing I do.'  
"Tick, Tock Mr. Williams, better hurry."  
I slammed the phone shut, already storming out the door. Cath and Chin followed. We made the drive in strained silence. None of us wanted to face what we were about to see. The thought of Steve actually dying this time made me sick. Losing someone twice in the same week was more than I could bear.

* * *

Steve POV  
I wok e up slowly, a blinding pain in my head. What had happened? All I could remember was calling Cath, and then nothing. Everything was just one big haze. I tried to move my hands. They were chained; from my experience waking up chained was never a good thing. I could just hear Danny's voice in my head saying 'really Steven waking up handcuffed is bad; well didn't they tell you how to get out of it in SEAL school. I thought you knew how to get out of anything.'  
"Well, well Mr. McGarret, so nice to see you awake." I looked up trying to clear the fogginess from my brain, but even with what I'm certain was a concussion I still knew that voice,  
"Hess."  
"Oh good you recognize me, I was afraid I might have done a little damage to that head of yours. Amazing what you can do with a two by four isn't it."  
"What do you want Hess. You don't have anything against me anymore."  
"Well I was still thinking about killing your partner, but then I decided that would be much trouble. So I decided I was going to hurt you another way."  
"What you're going to kill me? Torture me first? I'm a trained navy SEAL Hess; you don't think I can handle a little torture?"  
The look on his face was starting to worry me; I had no clue what he was up. Plus my hands and feet were handcuffed to the chair I was sitting. There was no way I could get out of this one without a little outside help.  
"You see Steve I thought about it for a while and I came up with another plan. You see Steve you don't like other people to see you hurting, and to answer your question, yes I'm going to torture you, but I'm going to do it in front of your family. I decided the best way to make you pay is to have the people you love most watch you die. Helpless to do anything."  
"How are you even going to get them out here? They all think I'm dead."  
"Well you see they somehow managed to track your phone, and I just had a lovely chat with your friend Danny. They should be arriving any minute for the big show…Oh look there they are now."  
I followed his line of sight to where three of his big goons where dragging in Chin, Cath, and Danny. I let out a sigh of relief when I didn't see Kono that meant we weren't all totally lost. Hopefully Chin had gotten some sort of signal out to her before they were caught.  
"Secure our guests gentlemen; we wouldn't want them to get loose during the big show."  
"What are you going to do, show us your new firework collection?" Danny retorted, he must be stressed if he was resorting to the really lame witty remarks part of his brain.  
"Oh you're ever the charmer Mr. Williams. No I'm going to torture your fellow colleague. It's a win-win situation for me. After all watching you three having to watch what I'm doing to Steve here is the best sort of torture of all. I'll be right back you enjoy yourselves while you still can."  
Hess walked out of the room followed by his three thugs. I guess he trusted that we were tied up well enough to not be able to escape. Of course Danny took the opportunity to yell at me, I swear the man thought he was my mother,  
"Steve you freaking moron! The next time you try to fake kill yourself, you better warn me so I can do it for you."  
"You know Danny if you hadn't rushed into this situation head on maybe we wouldn't have this problem, how are we supposed to get out of this one? The great Danny Williams rushed headlong into the situation without a plan. Now that's a new one"  
"Well you know I was just taking a leaf out of your book. At least I didn't get my partner shot."  
"Well not yet anyway. But you are about to get your partner tortured."  
"Well, I'm sorry Mr. Tough guy, I though you could handle a few minutes of torture, any-"  
"Would you two shut up! Honestly you're like four year olds. I would put you in time out, but it appears you're already there. " Cath shouted, looking slightly amused at our argument. "Anyway we didn't rush headlong into the situation, we called Kono on the way over, and she's bringing back up." She continued with a smug smile on her face.  
"Okay, fine I guess you di- " I was cut off by the sound of footsteps coming down the hall and the sound of Hess's overly smug voice.  
" I would love for this little love fest to continue on, but we have some work to do."  
He walked back into my line of sight wielding nothing but a knife and a syringe. He set the syringe down still holding the knife, switching it back and forth between his hands. I ignored the knife, instead staring straight into his eyes knowing it would aggravate him. I saw the flash of silver and then felt nothing but pain.

* * *

Danny's POV  
I watched with bated breath. From my experience with ruthless psychopaths, it didn't do any good to yell at them, all it generally did was piss them off more. That rage would be directed at Steve, and the situation was already bad enough, Cath and Chin followed my lead as they to stayed silent. Hess was flipping the knife back and forth waiting for his opportunity, and then quicker than a viper he struck. The knife flashed slicing down into Steve's leg, I closed my eyes trying not to heave at the sight of Steve's blood that had started streaming down his leg. He barely let out a groan; living up to his I show no pain attitude.  
It only seemed to infuriate Hess more as he brought the knife down again, and again, and again. Arm, Stomach, Leg, anywhere he could reach. It had the makings of a horror movie, blood pouring everywhere slicking down any surface it approached, and there was nothing I could do but watch. The one thing I knew Steve wouldn't want me to do, at this point he couldn't hold back the small grunts of pain. I knew I it was the one thing that made Steve the maddest. He had the idea that he shouldn't show pain because he was the team leader, and he had to be strong for everyone.  
I couldn't take it anymore I had to do something, pissed off psychopath or not,  
"You have to stop! Please, just stop"  
He turned around the blood on the knife dripping down onto the floor, an evil smile on his face.  
"I see I'm making an impact, how nice to see that someone actually cares for Mr. McGarret life. What do you think of th-"  
I heard it at the same time he did, the sound of sirens. They were blaring loud and clear outside. As in distraction loud, I knew the drill they were performing by heart. They were going to distract everyone with the sound of sirens try to lure them outside, and then they were going to sneak into the back. Apparently Hess knew it to.  
He picked up the syringe, I had wondered what it was for, and apparently I was about to find out. I wished I wasn't, my imagination didn't need to be satisfied anytime soon.  
"I'm sure you know what this is McGarret, after all you have experienced the effects of it before. Remember Iraq?"  
The look in Steves eyes made me sick, if Steve was as scared as what his face was showing then we were in deep trouble.  
"There's an antidote, Hess. You know that."  
"Yes well, fortunately for me this is much more potent, and even with the cavalry making their way through the back of the warehouse I don't think they will be able to get you to a hospital in time."  
And with that he plunged it into Steves waiting arm.  
"I'm guessing you have about twenty minutes left McGarret, enjoy your time."  
He walked away disappearing into one of the dark corners of the warehouse his goons following him. I hoped Kono caught him, so that I could kill him for what he had done later. Glancing over at Steve I started praying for Kono to get here as soon as possible. He was already fading in and out of consciousness.  
Cath was shouting at Steve trying to catch his attention,  
"Steve! Steve! You have to tell me what he poisoned you with."  
He looked around blearily as if he was trying to figure out where he was, I didn't think he had heard caths words, but then he looked straight at her – or a straight as someone who had just been poisoned can look at someone – and tried to mutter a few words,  
"I-It's a inland taipan…shuts d-d-down your organs…..in m-m-minutes"  
He was already in pain, his eyes were clenched tight, not a good sign.  
"You have got to be fuckin kidding me, he just injected you with the venom of one of the most venomous snakes in the world. You know Rambo you have the worst luck in the world. And when we get out of this later you are going to explain to me exactly how this happened last time. "  
Chin and Cath were both looking me strangely,  
"Why do you know what the most venomous snake venom in the world is." , Cath asked  
"I watch Animal planet. Can't we do this later I think I hear them…KONO!HEY WERE OVER HERE!"  
"Danny, oh thank god we found you!" Kono shouted, a look of relief on her face as she ran into the room. Coming behind my chair she hurried to untie me as several other people untied Chin, Cath, and Steve.  
I ran immediately to Steve's side, sliding the last few feet on my knees, trying to ignore the wet liquid seeping through the knees of my pants. Someone had lowered him to the floor trying to offer the smallest bit of comfort, but he was still barely conscious. His mouth moving, but the words to quite for me to hear. I leaned closer and could barely hear what he was saying, but what he said made my blood run cold,  
"B-b-be strong…g-g-g-grace needs y-you"  
"NO! You are not going to die. Stay with me. Don't go into the fucking light, now would be a really good time for you to start listening to me."  
My pleas were useless as his eyes slipped close, I froze for a minute thinking he was already gone, but the ever so subtle movement of his chest reassured me for the briefest of moments that he was still alive.  
I gripped his hand in mine, the only lifeline he had to the real world, trying to ignore the blood that was making his hand so slippery. Red didn't belong outside the body, especially in such large quantities. I was beginning to hate the color red, and what it represented.  
I started muttering a prayer, something I felt I had been doing an awful lot of lately, waiting for the medics to get here so I could put this whole mess behind me, when I felt his hand go limp in mine. I held my hand to his neck knowing that the pulse I was so desperately seeking wasn't going to be there.  
". NO. NO." I muttered, each no in time with the compressions I was starting. "You are not going to die on me. ."

A.N -Reviews are welcome they inspire me to write more.


	6. Chapter 5

A.N – okay so I'm not totally happy with this chapter, but since it's been so long since I posted I figured I should just get it over with and put it up.

" you're not going to die on me. Not again, not like this. Come on Steven"

I pressed harder on his chest trying to spark some life back into my partner, to bring him back to the land of the living. I had already lost one friend on this god-forsaken island; it wasn't going to happen again.

"_Sir. Sir. We have this under control, you need to stop."_

_NO. Not yet, he was going to live. I wasn't going to let someone close to me die, if I could have done something about. One. Two. Three more seconds. No breath. No pulse. WAIT there. The smallest rise of his chest. Alive, he was alive. For now. Deep breathe Danny. Stay Calm. Going to be okay._

Someone was trying to pull me off; I looked up into the face of a paramedic.

"Sir, you need to move so that we can look at him."

Someone else was talking to me. Trying to pull me up. I recognized Kono's voice through the haze in my mind. She pulled me up turning me away from the paramedics trying to save Steve's life. They were loading him onto a gurney, while simultaneously shoving a tube down his throat, an IV into his arm, pulling out needles all bad signs. But he was still breathing. Still alive.

"Come on Danny, were going to meet them at the hospital."

"No, I'm going in the ambulance with him; he needs someone to be there with him."

She looked at me with a doubtful look on her face,

"Are you sure? You know Steve isn't going to like this right."

I cracked a small smile at that, the thought of Steve even trying to resist me right now was a long shot.

"When has that ever stopped me before?" I said, as I jogged back to the ambulance. The medics ignored me as I climbed into the back with them. To busy trying to stabilize Steve, to worry about a stray cop.

I settled myself on the left side of Steve as far out of the way as possible. I grabbed Steve's hand more for my own comfort then his at this point. I needed the extra reassurance that he was still with us. Looking down at his face he could have easily been dead. With the tube shoved down his throat he wasn't even technically keeping himself alive. At this point he had to rely on the flimsy help of technology.

The medics worked busily around me, I'm guessing Kono had relayed to them what kind of snake bite he was suffering from, because one of them was trying to have the anti-venom waiting for them at the hospital. In five minutes this whole mess could be on its way to being resolved. And our lives could go back to normal. That's what I thought, but I didn't live in the world of Steve McGarret, who had to make everything ten times harder than it had any right to be.

If it was even possible his hand went even limper in my hand, synchronizing itself with the shrill beep of the heart monitor. Something that had been haunting my dreams since Steve had died the first time.

My stomach dropped. This wasn't happening, not again. The beep resounded through my brain, all I could hear was the mass confusion going on around me as the medics rambled on.

_Low BP. He's having trouble getting oxygen. His livers shutting down. So are his lungs. Charge to Three-Hundred. No response, go again. Charge to Three-Fifty. Clear. Go again. I got a response. He's Stable for now, but not for much longer. Were here. Carry him out. Doctors Waiting. Sir! Sir! Your going have to wait in there. Doctor will be out later. Sit down here. Danny! My name. Who was that? Look up. Someone there._

"Danny! Danny! Hey you okay? Do you know where Steve is?"

I looked up into the face of Kono, not really registering what I was seeing; I think I was still in shock. My brain was fuzzy, nothing was making sense. She sat down on my right side, and Chin on the left. I didn't see Cath anywhere, and I suddenly had the worst case of Déjà vu back to when I had been here the last time.

She put her arm around me trying a different tactic,

"Hey, Danny you have to snap out of it. When Steve wakes up he's going to need you to be there for him."

"I-I-I just….He died on the way over here Kono. I couldn't do anything about it, and now Hess is still out there, and the chances are he's going to come after Steve again. What are we supposed to do? What if he dies for real this time?"

She took my hand in hers,

"He's not going to die Danny; Steve is the strongest person any of us know. Whatever gets thrown our way were going to deal with it. Okay? And were going to catch Hess, no matter how long it takes us understand."

I leaned my head back against the wall, and nodded to tired, emotionally and physically, to do anything else.

"Get some sleep Danny, Kono and I will wake you up when the doctor comes out."

I nodded at Chin, not bothering to take my head off the wall. If i went to sleep i could forget abot this. I wouldn't have to tell Gracie that her beloved Uncle Steve was dead or I wouldn't have to plan another funeral. But Hess was still out there, and if Steve survived this attack we would still have to deal with him.

Four hours later we were still waiting; we had all taken short naps but hadn't really been able to sleep without knowing what was going on with our other team member. We had watched an endless stream of sobbing loved ones trickle in and out of the waiting room. Each waiting for the doctor to come out and present them with a miracle. I felt like we had already used all of our miracles.

"Family of Steve McGarret.", a doctor came out of the double doors searching for the next eager parade of family members.

We delivered all jumping up simultaneously making our way to the doctor at the other end of the room, I wasn't sure if I was ready to hear what he had to say anymore. But no news was bad news, or so they said.

"Were his family." Kono said arms crossed over her body, eyes red. The very definition of a grieving family member.

The doctor gave Kono a doubtful look, but then he glanced at the badges all three of us were wearing, and seemed to decide that it was best to just let it go.

"I have some good news and some bad news. Mr. McGarret suffered from what would have been several minor knife wounds but the toxin he was injected with caused problems with blood clotting. He's lost a lot of blood, but we have him on blood transfusions for this. Also the effects of the venom have also caused kidney damage and respiratory problems. We have him on life support right now until his body can support itself."

"How long till we know he's going to be okay?" Chin asked, voicing the question we all wanted to know the answer to.

"There's something else you should know about Mr. McGarret's condition. He only has one kidney, and because of the extensive damage that he has suffered to the one he has we have put him on dialysis. If the damage starts to worsen we will have to put him on the transplant list and take the situation from there."

"Wait, why does he only have one kidney?" The last time I had checked everyone was supposed to have two.

He flipped open the folder he had with him, what I assume was Steve's medical file, and ran his finger down the page searching for the relevant information. He stopped about halfway down the page, and then looked back up at us,

"From what I can see he had cancer a few years ago, and they were forced to remove the kidney. That's all I can tell you. If you would like to see him for a few minutes they should have him in the ICU by now."

Cancer. This was something I couldn't deal with right now. Normally I would have given him the 'I'm your partner, your supposed to tell me everything speech', but right now he just shoved it to the back of his brain to be dealt with later.

We followed the doctor across the hospital until we arrived on the sixth floor, the same place where I had been the first time. Hopefully there weren't similar results.

He stopped at the door and turned around to face us,

"I want you guys to be prepared for what you're going to see. He is on life support so there is a tube down his throat, and there's a lot of wires and monitors. He's not going to look like himself; I understand how difficult that can be for some families so I just want you to be prepared."

He pushed open the door ushering us in, and then quietly shutting the door behind him as he left. I lingered at the back letting Kono, and Chin go in first, I dint need to see this again. Thought of Steve dying while I tried to revive him was still fresh in my mind.

Kono sank into the chair at the side of his bed, silent tears slipping down her face. Chin lowered himself into the chair next to her placing his arm around her shoulder.

"It's okay Kono, it's okay to cry. It's the best way for the soul to heal." Chin said trying to reassure her.

"B-But everything's so different now. I don't know what to do; it's so much harder to do this when you love someone like this."

Chin did a double take, "Wait what you mean, when you love someone like this. Please tell me it's just brotherly love."

Kono gripped his hand harder, looking down at his face with sad eyes. I had never seen the look on Kono's face, and it didn't belong, she took a breath bracing herself.

"Umm, we were going to tell you guys we were dating, but then Steve died, and I didn't see the point in telling anyone."

I looked at Chin, he looked at me. For a moment we forgot about what was going on, and shared a moment of confusion.

"You and Steve? I thought Steve was dating Cath, when did they break up?"

"They weren't really dating." she said giving me a 'what were you thinking' look

"Wait, they weren't dating? Every time I went to Steve's house they were doing it like bunnies…Wait then why did he tell Cath that he wasn't really dead instead of you."

"I'm guessing because she didn't have to be around any us, it makes perfect sense to me. He needed all of us to really believe he was dead. For the emotions to be real."

She went back to smoothing the hair off of Steve's face, signaling that this topic of conversation was over. Chin was looking between his baby cousin and Steve, still trying to figure out what was going on between the two of them. I switched my attention back to the later, leaving Chin to try and figure out what had just happened.

His skin was still chalky white, even though one of the monitors said that he was running a temperature of 104. Looking at his face I suddenly had the feeling that something was about to go wrong.

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_Everything was dark. He could hear voices. Talking to him, saying his name. So much pain. So hot. Was he on fire? Why was it so hot? GET ME OUT. PLEASE SAVE . Why wasn't anybody listening? How was he supposed to get rid of it? So weak. What was wrong with him? What was going on? It was getting brighter, the pain was fading. That was better. The light was getting brighter. He had to open his eyes, had to see what was going on. Sitting up he looked around, there was someone coming towards him. They were coming through the light standing right in front of him. Speaking. Listen Steven; get a hold of yourself,_

"_Hey Steve, I figured I would be seeing you pretty soon, with your Rambo complex and all that jazz."_

_He looked up into the face of the one person he thought he would never see again, _

"_Mary? But your dead, how is this possible?"_

_She looked at me like I was stupid, _

"_Geez Steven, I never took you to be this dense. You are dead, well technically you're not dead yet. You still have a chance; the doctors are still trying to save your life." _

"_Why am I in the hospital? What happened to me Mary?" there were too many holes in my memory I didn't know if I should know what was going on or not. _

"_It was Hess. He poisoned you, among other things. Your kidney is failing; your lungs and heart are shutting down. Your body can't take it anymore Steve. You're dying."_

"_NO. I can't die, not now. I have too much to lose. I have a family. You can't let me die Mary. There has to be another way"_

"_I was hoping you would say that. There's something you should know though Steve, you're not out of danger yet you're going to get worse before you get better, and if you die again you can't go back, you'll be dead for good."_

"_Thank you Mary, I'm hoping for both of our sakes that we don't see each other soon."_

_She walked away. The world started going dark around. Eyes slipping shut of their own free will. The pain returning with it. Something cold rushed through me and I knew no more. _

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The doctor came out of the door again; after the monitor had gone off we had all been shoved out of the door in a rush, and had been sitting out here for ten minutes. Left to worry once again, in the terse silence that came with these kinds of things.

"We managed to revive him but there are some complications." he said with a serious voice. The atypical doctor voice. Nothing good ever came out of that voice.

"What kind of complications?" Chin asked, a frown was starting to form on his face.

He hesitated, "His kidney and his lungs have started to shut down, the toxin has completly overwhelmed his system We have upped the dosage of the anti-venom, and antibiotics but there's nothing more we can do at this point."

I jumped out of my chair, "What are you saying; he's just going to die! Isn't there something you can do for him? What kind of doctor are you to just let him die like this?"

He gave me a sympathetic look, "I'm sorry Mr. Williams, and there is nothing we can do. Right now there is a ten percent chance that he will live. But at this point I don't think he will make it through the night. I'm sorry."

"Do you think he will ever wake up?" Kono whispered. Her eyes were starting to pool with tears.

"There's a slim chance that he will, but even if he did he probably won't even know what is going on. The high temperature that he is running has caused delirium. Now I know that the hospital has very strict rules about people in the ICU, but at think at this point the best thing that he needs right now is for his family to be with him."

He laid his hand on Kono's arm briefly trying to offer a small amount of comfort then turned around, and walked back off in the other direction.

Please Review, the more reviews i get the faster i update :)


	7. Chapter 6

_A.N. – I'm really sorry for this taking so long, but I've had writers block and I just haven't been able to get this chapter right. I'm not very good with the sadder scenes so I'm sorry for how short this chapter is also. _

_P.S – I want to thank everyone who wrote reviews, without you guys I wouldn't have any reason to write anymore. _

"I think we should all have a few minutes alone with Steve to say our last good-byes. Then we can talk about how we're going to catch Hess." Chin said looking pointedly at Kono. After all she hadn't been with her boyfriend the last time he was stuck here so it was only logical she get some time with him now

"I agree with Chin, Kono why don't you go first."

"No. I'll go last, you go first Danny."

I looked at Chin, in case he disagreed; he gave me a subtle nod of the head. Taking a deep breath I released it and raised myself out of the chair once again, and made my way into the hell hole where I had been spending most of my time.

My feet echoed against the linoleum of the floor, resounding off the walls of the hallway, the silence almost eerie the sound of the door creaking open didn't help any either.

Settling into yet another chair, a place I felt like I was spending most of my time lately, I looked into Steve's face. If it was even possible he looked worse, the stark white of the sheet blending into the edges of his face melding them into one. The dark brown of his hair was the only thing that distinguished the two, a stark contrast from what I was used to seeing.

"You know Steven; you've really gone and fucked it up this time. I just realized that even though we've been partners for a year that I know so little about you. I just found out you had cancer. CANCER Steven! Don't you think that's something a partner would like to know about?

Of course it isn't, you don't find it relevant to share any of your personal life. The way you keep secrets it must be physically painful for you to tell people things."

I looked down at his face, hoping for some kind of response. Not even a twitch, I took that as a sign to continue,

"And now you're dating Kono, which by the way is like the weirdest thing ever, but I think you two would have made the perfect team. She would have always had your back, and she could totally kick your ass. I would honestly pay to see that, you two are like the ultimate ninja couple. I bet you could even find one of those I-Phone thingies that would make ninja names for you. They honestly have an app for everything, it's astounding actually."

Taking a deep breath I paused, I wasn't used to talking this much without one of his snide remarks, and right now I would do anything to have him make fun of me. Our arguments were like a second nature these days, everything with him was actually.

"Listen to me Steven, we need you. You're the only thing that completes our crazy little family, and even though you have the tendency to get me shot at, and you're crazy ass plans sound like a kindergartner came up with them, we need you. Don't let Grace down, she needs her Uncle Steve.

And honestly Steve if you die, I don't think 5-0 will survive. I don't know why I'm telling you this but I've never been as scared as I was in that ambulance when you died. And now you might go and do it again, for the third time actually, and I'm not sure if I can handle that again. So get that through your thick head, and listen to me for once. I'm usually right, even though you would never admit it."

Rubbing my hands over my eyes, I hopelessly tried to erase some of the he tiredness that I was feeling. The ache in my heart making it known that it wasn't working.

"Hold on Steve, don't make the last words I ever hear from you be, be strong, because I'm not sure I could hold you to it."

I got up, and taking one last look at his face I walked out of the room. Chin and Kono looked up as I walked back outside, matching looks of despair still pasted on their faces. Chin got up without a word and trudged through the door.

Chin POV

"You know you've really done it this time boss. I'm sure that Danny's already yelled at you, but you know it's just him blowing off steam.

Listen boss You can't die on us now, especially now that you've royally freaked out Danny with the whole cancer thing, I was going to tell him the real story but I know that you'll tell him when you're ready. "

Looking down at his hands he sighed, he had never been good with this kind of stuff. Talking to unconscious people had always seemed like a stupid idea, but then again Steve had always gotten him to do things he wasn't sure he could do.

"You have to make it through for Kono, I'm not sure how I feel about you two, but I know that she needs you right now. If you need to fight for anyone do it for her. You saved my life once boss, and know we're going to save yours and catch Hess for doing this to you."

Getting up he took one last glance at the man lying in the bed, and with his head bowed in a silent prayer walked back out.

Kono POV

Walking into the room was like walking into her own personal nightmare, she wasn't going to tell anyone this, but she had had nightmares ever since the night Steve had died the first time. It had torn her apart knowing that she was never going to see him again, and finding out he was alive again was like waking up on Christmas morning.

She took a seat in the same chair that she had been sitting in before and reclaimed Steve's hand in her own.

"I know how hard it is for you to admit defeat Steve, but I don't want you to be in pain either. I know the guys don't think I could handle it if you died again, but I can. I don't know how, but I will."

The tears were starting to run down her face, she cradled his large in her hands. Her two hands still barely covering his, and brought it to her face. His hands were one of the things that she loved about him the most, they were large and scarred, and the nails were chipped. But at the end of the day she could hold that same hand, and it would be warm and comforting. They would hold her and she would feel secure, in his arms were the only place that she felt truly at home.

"I want you to live so badly. There's so much I don't know about you. I-I-I just… it's too soon."

Wiping away a stray tear, she continued on trying to erase the uncharacteristic tremor in her voice.

"I'm going to catch the bastard that did this Steve, if it's the last thing I ever do…..I love you Steven, don't you ever forget that."

She whispered as she brushed away the hair on his forehead to gently plant a kiss there, and then following Chin and Danny's footsteps she walked out the door, back held high, and what Steve called her kick-ass look on place.

Danny POV

Kono had only been inside for about five minutes before she walked out of the room. Her face set in the determined face that we all knew so well.

"How are we going to catch this bastard?"

TBC.


	8. Chapter 7

A.N okay first off i want to apologize for this taking so long, but things have been kind of crazy and this was the last thing on my mind. Anyway enough excuses i'm thinking one more chapter unless anyone is interested in more. Please review :)

"_How are we going to catch this bastard?" _

Chin looked up, taking his face out of his hands.

"I have a plan. But knowing you Danny you're not going to like it."

"Fantastic, Steve is in the hospital and yet I still feel like he's right here. I'm seriously starting to look like Santa Clause with all of the grey hairs you two are giving me."

Chin just shook his head a small smile on his face but continued on,

"Okay guys here's what's going to happen…."

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Four hours later the remaining three members of the famed task force stood straight and tall behind the governor in the rushed press conference that she had called. Identical looks of grief on their faces, all listening intently as the governor started to address the crowd. The governor's face echoing sadness but her voice demanded respect.

"I have gathered all of you here today to announce that Lt. Commander Steve McGarret passed away earlier today from the injuries he sustained in an undercover operation. This is the same operation that forced him to fake his own death earlier this week. That will be all; I will take any questions that you have at a later point in time."

Wiping away a stray tear she walked off the podium, to choked up to continue, the members of Five-0 following her creating the somber illusion of a funeral march. The reporters who were usually menaces remained quiet for once, the news that their local super hero was once again dead enough to leave them in stunned silence.

A cloud passed over the sun casting a chill over the remaining crowd, as if even the weather couldn't bear to shine brightly on such a somber day.

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"This isn't a good idea boss, this smells like a trap. "

"I've already been tricked by this son of a bitch once it's not going to happen again" the man's tone meant business, but his companion tried again hoping to get him to see the truth.

"At least let one of us go, there sure to recognize you, they have your picture all over the news. You know they're going to be waiting for you."

The other man flashed a smug grin, to cocky for his own good.

"I'm Victor Hess, Arthur, they haven't caught me yet, and whatever makes you think they're going to catch me now? Anyway the last place there going to expect me is at a hospital morgue, there more likely to expect me at the funeral."

"I still don't like this, if you get caught there's no way we can help you. You of all people should know that."

"Your concern is touching Arthur. But you of all people should know that I can take care of myself"

Flashing one last smug grin at his partner he strode back into the darkness towards the outer doors of the Hospital. Easing the door open with the ease that comes with being a criminal he quietly slipped inside. Carefully shielding his face from the cameras that patrolled the narrow hallway, he made his way through the building.

His feet slapping against the linoleum of the floor echoing sinisterly against the wall, creating an eerie effect that was common in horror movies. Following the signs to the morgue his only thought was that he could finally complete something that he had been trying to complete for a long time. He was finally going to have the pesky McGarret family off of his hands once and for all.

The younger McGarret had been the fly on the wall that had been taunting him for years; he had gotten to close for comfort several times, and now. Now this was his release to slide seamlessly back into the criminal world, no one else was nearly as daring as Steve McGarret. He would finally be free.

Stopping in front of the door labeled 'Morgue' he took a deep breath preparing himself for the amount of joy this moment was going to bring him. He felt like a kid in a candy shop. and had just found the golden ticket.

Both hands on the door he pushed it open, the door squeaked as the hinges protesting years of abuse and underfunding.

The darkness of the room absorbed him as he walked in, making it nearly impossible to see where he was going. Fortunately for him he didn't need to know where, he had already received the information he needed hours before. Light would only be needed for a brief moment of confirmation.

He turned right following the curves of the building, and then turned left letting his fingers brush against the cold lockers mentally counting them off. The tap, tap, tap resounding off the walls. He stopped when he reached the fourth one. Bingo. His fingers groped for the lever, letting his hand be the guide he quickly found it. Letting out a small cry of triumph, he yanked it open. The metal upon metal squealing shattering the silence once again. Pausing for a brief second, he let the silence greet him to confirm that he was still alone.

Taking out his phone he prepared for the few seconds that he could use it for, it had been to much of a risk to use it to get through the whole morgue, but for this one moment it would be worth it. He flipped it open shining it down onto the table, and tried to register the shock of what he was seeing, or what he wasn't seeing.

"What the Hell" he whispered his shock too big to be contained.

It wasn't the only surprise that was coming his way as the lights flashed on temporarily blinding the criminal, and exposing the three members of Hawaii Five-0 all with smug look on their faces.

"What the hell indeed. Thought you were to good for us weren't you Hess?"

Hess stayed silent not bothering to let Danny see the satisfaction of what he was feeling, instead he did what every dumb criminal felt the need to do and spit at him.

A calm look on his face Danny walked forward, trying to resist the urge to pummel him right then and there.

"Hey Kono?"

Kono walked forward to join him in front of Hess, a small smile playing out on her face. She knew that tone and she could see where this was going to go.

"Yeah Danny?"

"Being Stevens's girlfriend and all, do you think he would mind terribly if I punched this bastard in the face."

Kono appeared to think about it for a few seconds.

"Well Danny you know how Steven feels about manhandling our suspects, but I think he wouldn't mind just this once."

Danny nodded at her then turned around and poured all of the frustration and anger and heartache that he had been experiencing and punched Hess in the face. Hess went down and went completely still on the floor blood pouring out of his noise.

Danny looked down a look of disgust on his face as he made the signal to the HPD officers in the back that they could move in for the arrest.

Danny walked out followed by Chin and Kono as they walked back down the hall to be by the side of the man they were trying to bring justice to, looking as if the weight of the world had just been taken off their shoulders.

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_Eight Hours Earlier _

"_Okay guys here's what's going to happen, the governor is going to hold a press conference announcing that McGarret has died from the wounds he received- "  
Kono cut in, her face full of doubt. _

"_But Cuz a criminal like Hess isn't going to come to a funeral to make sure that Steve is dead, he's to smart for that." _

"_Ah but that's where Hess is going to change his game plan, after the last time we know that Hess is going to want some type of proof, so if he's not going to go the funeral where is he going to go?"_

_Chin looked between me and Kono as if one of us had the answer hiding somewhere, a look of recognition brightened up Kono's face. _

"_The morgue, of course he would go there. But why would Hess come personally, why not send one of his henchmen."_

"_That's one of the possibilities, but I doubt Hess fully trusts them so he'll want to do it himself. Plus his ego is so large that he probably thinks no one is capable of catching him. "_

"_Okay." I said pulling myself out of the chair, "let's get this plan in motion." _

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Making my way down the hall I couldn't help but feel relief this mess finally had the potential to be over. All of the strings that we could take care of were wrapped up the only thing left was up to Steve, and considering his penchant to be trouble who knew what could happen.

About five feet away from Steve's door we were met by a nervous looking woman holding a clipboard, anxiously guarding Steve's room.

"I'm sorry but you can't go in this room right now."

An icy feeling was starting to creep through my stomach. This was it then he had died and we weren't even going to be allowed to see him. He was going to die without his family by his side. Oh god what if he was already dead and we hadn't been there.

"Is- Is he dead." Kono whispered her voice not strong enough to talk louder.

The nurse looked shocked for a moment, as if we had broken some sort of code by uttering such a thing.

"Oh goodness no. Mr. McGarret just woke up, the doctor is just taking a look at him, and then he can come out and talk to you."

"He's awake? Oh thank god, it's a miracle." Kono muttered, falling into Chin for a hug finally letting herself truly relax at the news.

"Its indeed a miracle." A familiar voice sounded behind us.

We all turned around to see the doctor that had been supervising Steves care in the doorway. Pulling it shut he waved them over to some nearby chairs and motioned to them to sit down. After we had all settled down he began to speak,

"At this point in time Mr. McGarret is off the ventilator, but he is still on dialysis and it is most likely to stay that way for at least two to three days if he continues to show improvement. He has shown significant improvement, but you have to realize that he is still extremely out of it."

"At this point in time is he going to be okay?" Kono's voice was making it obvious that this was the only information that was relevant, the rest could wait.

"As of right now all of his vitals are looking good and the fact that he woke up at all is a great sign. If he continues to improve in the next twenty four hours I would say that you don't have anything to worry about."

He said as he stood up signaling that he was nearly finished.

"I'm going to leave you guys to be with him, that's what he needs most right now." He said finally walking off, for once leaving with news that would bring a family closer together instead of tearing it apart.

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	9. Chapter 8

**A.N - I just want to say thanks for all the reviews that I have gotten, they really make me want to write more. Anyway I'm thinking this chapter and then one more and then this stories done :(**

The doctor walked away leaving us to be on our own. We relished in the silence for a few minutes, for the first time in days it was comforting instead o oppressing.

"So Kono you want some alone time with him."

Kono looked up eyeing chin with a look that I felt certain had been mirrored on my face during one of Steve's murderous rampages. A little bit of how stupid are you and why would you even ask such a thing.

"I've had plenty of alone time with him Cuz. I think it's time Steve has his ohana with him right now."

I almost laughed at the expression on Chins face, until now I think that what Steve and Kono had been doing behind closed doors had been the last thing on his mind. Until now that is.

Kono scoffed at the look on his face,

"Come on Cuz I'm not a little girl anymore. If it makes you feel any better Steve didn't make the first move."

I let out a snicker at that one; from the look on Chin's face it most certainly didn't make him feel better. Fortunately before he could even think about committing mental suicide my phone rang the sinister tunes of jaws echoing across the hall.

I flipped it open and walked away from chin and kono figuring that they wouldn't want to hear the ensuing conversation with my lovely ex-wife.

"What do you need Rachel? If you haven't heard I'm kind of busy right now."

"Daddy?"

His little girl's voice echoed across the phone, tears evident in her tone.

"Hey monkey what's wrong?"

"Daddy why does the news say that Uncle Steve is dead?"

Oh shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. With everything that had been going he had forgotten that Rachel and Step-Stan had taken Grace to Europe with them. And since he hadn't been able to get a hold of Rachel they had no idea what was going on. This was going to take some time fixing.

"Hey monkey Uncle Steve isn't dead. You know how sometimes we have to lie to catch the bad guy right?"

At the sniffle on the other side that he took as a yes he continued,

"Well in order to catch this particular bad guy we had to pretend that Uncle Steve was dead."

"Danno, if he isn't dead can I talk to Uncle Steve?"

"Ummm monkey Uncle Steve is –"

"He's hurt isn't he Danno. Did the bad guys hurt him when he had to be fake dead?"

I let out a sigh of relief thankful that my little girl could be such a genius.

"Yeah monkey the bad guys hurt him but he's going to be okay. If mommy will let you, you can come up and see him when he wakes up."

"Okay Danno, I love you, tell Uncle Steve that I love him to."

"I love you to monkey, and I'll make sure to tell Uncle Steve too."

Flipping the phone shut I walked back over towards Chin and Kono both patiently waiting for me to get off the phone.

"I take it that was Grace." Kono said

"Yeah how'd you know?"

She grinned like she knew something I didn't,

"You didn't go all jersey on her."

"Jers-. Seriously I argue with my ex-wife one time and suddenly I'm going Jersey on her. Kono you honestly don't make any sense, what does going Jersey on someone even mean?"

Kono just shrugged her shoulders, and before I could continue my rant Chin in a bold move stepped between us hoping to prevent any further conflict.

"Well, I'm going to be the parent here guys and say that maybe we should go visit our boss, before we end up short by an additional member."

I gave one last glare at Kono and then stalked into Steves room, trying to pretend that I didn't see Chin subtly high five Kono. Traitor I muttered plopping into one of the chairs feeling more than a little smug about the fact that one of them was going to have to stand. A little childish I know, but the day had been long enough that I couldn't really bring myself to care.

On the other hand I wasn't the only one being childish. Kono had her feet propped up on the bed and was tipping the chair back, blatantly disregarding the fact that the man in the bed was her boss. I paused stopping in mid-thought; technically the man in bed wasn't her boss anymore. The whole ninja couple thing was going to take some getting used to, the two of them being together was like mixing gasoline and fire, and seeing how big the explosion could get.

I looked over at Kono who was looking considerably more relaxed and revived even though she had had barely any sleep over the last couple of days.

Glancing from Kono to Steve anyone could have noticed the difference that had taken place over the time we were gone. Color had finally returned to his face no longer giving him the resemblance of a corpse. Looking down at him I finally had the feeling that everything was going to be okay. Our ohana was going to be one again.

_

* * *

__S__teven….fucked it up…..CANCER…..secrets…..ninja….please don't let Grace down…..we need you. _

_Jumbled words raced through his brain, the voice speaking them seemed familiar. Cancer, why was the voice talking about cancer. Did he have cancer? _

_Who was the voice? The voice was loud, like a bullhorn cutting through the fog in his brain, but before he could figure it out it stopped. He tried to open his eyes to find where the voice had gone to, but then someone else was talking to him and his brain was once again working overtime trying to decipher the words. _

_Danny….don't die…..real story…Kono…catch Hess…doing this. _

_The voice stopped. His tired brain trying to connect the dots. Hess, Danny, Kono, who were these people, and was he dying? Was that why these strange people sounded so sad. _

_I don't want you to be in pain…to soon…..catch the bastard…..I love you. _

_This voice was accompanied by a small pressure on his forehead the smell of shampoo briefly overwhelmed his senses as the hair gently tickled his cheek. He knew this woman the smell of her strawberry shampoo was something that he knew by memory._

_His last thought before the darkness overwhelmed him once again was that he couldn't let these people down. They needed him to live. _

_He came to again to the feel of someone poking him; this time when he tried to open his eyes they obeyed him. The intense lights that greeted him though quickly forced them shut. The knifing pain it caused producing a small groan. _

_Regrettably the fact that his eyes had opened seemed to only prompt more prodding and poking. He tried to raise his hands to wave off whoever was unnecessarily prodding him, but unlike his eyes they didn't feel the need to obey remaining heavy at his sides._

"_Mr. McGarret, if you can hear me I need you to open your eyes. Then maybe we can get that tube out of your throat. Okay."_

_Tube? He hadn't even noticed the fact that there was a garden hose shoved down his throat, they must have him on the good stuff. He blearily opened his eyes again; desperate to have the thing out of his throat even if he couldn't feel it. The psychological effects taking their own toll. _

"_Very good Mr. McGarret. Okay on the count of three, I want you to cough and we'll get this thing out." She looked down at him to see if he was following her, "Okay one, two, and three." _

_He coughed. The weak noise that came out of his throat barely seemed sufficient, but he was too exhausted to really and truly care as the sudden itching in his throat spurred on a sudden coughing fit that left him breathless. _

_The nurse forced a straw letting him take a sip of refreshing water and started trying to get him comfortable again. What felt like an eternity later he lay back onto the pillow, suddenly to tired to keep his eyes open he let them drift back down fully welcoming unconsciousness. _

* * *

"Do you think I should poke him? Maybe give him a little incentive. "

Kono was impatiently tapping her foot on the bed, tired of waiting for her boyfriend to wake up. Chin just shook his head, laughing at his cousin's childish behavior, but also looking as if he was secretly wondering if he should just let her. I telling her to go ahead if a loved one pokes a hibernating bear its usually less inclined to go berserk and try to eat them,

"Seriously how much sleep does he need?" She sighed, tilting her chair back.

"M'not asleep."

"Holy Sh-"

The rest of the sentence was cut off as her and the chair careened backwards, crashing down onto the linoleum floor and cutting off the rest of her sentence. Chin and I stared down at her dazed face for a minute wondering if she was okay, and then back to Steve who had a vaguely confused look on his face, and then for the first time in days started to laugh.

**Please Review, that would make my day so much better. :)**


	10. Chapter 9

_**Wow. I'm sorry this is so late, but I have been so caught up in school and sports that this has been the last thing on my mind. I just want to say thank you for all of the reviews that I have gotten you guys are the only reason that I have to write this so thank you. Anyway I'm thinking that this is the last chapter, and if enough people ask for it maybe an epilogue. **_

The loud crash jolted him awake his instincts screaming at him to be ready to fight, but when he jerked up the sudden pain assaulted him from all angles. He let out a small groan, that wasn't heard over the loud snorts of Chin and Danny, and sank back into the pillows behind him.

He looked around but couldn't find Kono in all of the fuss; he cleared his throat to try to get some attention. They all continued to ignore him. He hated being lost and right now he was really wishing that somebody would tell him what was going on. And where his girlfriend was. What was so funny that they had to ignore him?

His persistence finally paid off when his eyes settled on the upside down chair next to his bed with a pair of familiar looking shoes dangling over the edge and an even more familiar head of hair rising over it. Gradually Kono's head rose up from below her face beet red, but eyes glaring daggers at Steve,

"Damn it Steve, do you always have to be such a freaking ninja. I mean in bed it's awesome but when you sneak up on _me _that's just wrong."

Steve stared at her trying to compute what was going on, was their sex life the butt of the mysterious joke. What was so funny about that? God he hoped that wasn't what they were talking about, that would just bring him even more relentless teasing from Danny and Chin. Chin. Shit. His brain was slowly catching up to what he was thinking.

They had never told Chin they were dating, which meant that either Kono had let it slip or someone had told him. It also meant that he hadn't had time to sufficiently butter him up, and convince him that he was a good match for Kono. He was so screwed, he was lucky that Chin hadn't already killed him. He was probably waiting until he could defend himself, so that it was actually a semi fair fight.

"Kono did you really have to bring that up. I'm still trying to get over the fact that you're actually dating someone."

Steve mentally echoed Chin's thoughts. He obviously needed to teach Kono how to keep a secret.

"Sorry Chin but it's true."

"You know Kono; I'm going to side with Chin on this one. We really don't need a play-by-play of your guy's sex lives."

Chin nodded at Danny still looking disturbed by the conversation that was currently taking place.

"If it's any consolation I agree."

He muttered finally able to find his voice in the fray that was going on.

Danny whipped his around to glare at him. Oh shit what had he done to piss him off this time, he had been unconscious for heaven's sake. But apparently that didn't stop him from opening his mouth and letting it rip

"Well hello Steven. So nice of you to join us, it's been kind of boring without you constantly being a complete and utter fucking moron. In fact we were so bored that had to go off and declare you as dead for the second time this week.

"I feel like shit Danno, do you really need to rant and rave right now, and _why_ are you mad at _me_? I saved your life."

The glare he sent Danny's way to try and enforce his point rated about a two on the McGarret scale, nowhere near had the usual eight or nine he reserved for normal occasions. It appeared Danny thought so to, because the yelling didn't stop there.

"Well I'm sorry Steven; I didn't realize that you were so fragile. Yes I'm grateful that you saved my life but I'm mad at you BECAUSE YOU NEVER TELL ME ANYTHING!"

"Geez Danno there's no need to yell."

"Okay guys were going to go get some lunch and leave you guys to your little chat."

Chin whispered as he slowly backed out of the room, eying Danny like he was a dangerous animal on the prowl. He grabbed a reluctant Kono by the arm on his way out by her arm, both wearing similar looks of fear on their faces. The normally fearless members of 5-0 ignored him as he tried to send them a frantic SOS with his eyes. Officially leaving him with the wrath that was hurricane Danny, who wasn't wasting any time to rip into him.

"Do you realize that I didn't even know you had cancer? I mean seriously, I realize that there are some things that you can't tell me because there classified. But CANCER Steven. They don't even let people in the seals if they have things like cancer. When were yo-"

"Danny! Just stop for a minute okay, I never had cancer okay. I don't know why you're so caught up with that."

"Why I'm so caught up with it? Why I'm so caught up with it he asks? I'm caught up with it Steve because as your partner I should know potentially life changing things like that. If you get to invade my privacy with things like what I'm having for lunch then I deserve to know things like that."

He paused for a minute confusion written across his face, and looking like he was rewinding to what had just been said.

"WAIT what do you mean you never had cancer?"

"I never had cancer Danny; it's as simple as that. I don't know why you keep thinking I did."

Danny looked him straight in the eye still looking lost,

"Because that's what the doctor said, he told us that your body was having trouble recovering because you only had one kidney."

"Ok well the one kidney part _is _true, but I never had cancer. They probably just used that as a cover story because the mission was classified."

"Well do you want to inform your partner about why you only have one kidney, or have you not been listening to the little chat we've been having."

He considered stringing Danny along for a minute, but then decided that he was too tired to deal with anymore of his partners yelling.

"Our unit was on a mission, and no I'm not telling you were. Anyway one of my men got hurt pretty badly. When we finally got air lifted out it turned out he was going to need a kidney transplant if he was going to have any chance of survival. The only hospital we could land at didn't have the facilities to test for a positive match, but we had to do something immediately. So-"

"Let me guess you being the typical Rambo like hero figure that you are decided that you should be the one to give away a kidney that his body might not even accept?"

"Well, yeah. Danny you have to understand that I was in charge, I was responsible for him. That man had a family back home and I had to do everything in my power to make sure that was going to get the chance to go back home to them."

"But you risked your entire naval career on one man. What if he ended up dying, you could have lost everything you worked for your whole life."

"Being in the Navy isn't like that Danny. You can't be selfish; you have to be willing to do anything for the men that you work with. If I don't show that I'm willing to do something for one man then my team won't trust me. I have to be willing to lay my life and career down on the line so that one day they will do the same for me."

Danny remained silent, and I was scared that I had finally crossed the line. The look on his face suggested that he was thinking long and hard about something. Something that could be dangerous with Danny Williams, whatever came out of his mouth next could be the defining moment of their partnership.

"So what you're telling me is that you risked your life for me and Grace even though you knew that Hess was going to kill you and we probably would have never found your body."

"Danny he was going to kill you just to make me mad, what was I supposed to do?"

"I don't know Steve you tell me. I'm your partner, you just told me that I have to trust you with my life, but you're not allowed to trust me with your life?"

"Honestly Danny I wasn't thinking. He threatened you and Grace and I just knew that it was going to turn into Kono and Chin if I didn't do something then and there. You guys are the only Ohana that I have left, and I wasn't going to let him take that away from me."

"I-I just. God if you had really died Steve do you know what it would have done? You're the center of our family, and you need to think about that the next time you decide to jump in front of a bullet."

"Danny I know-"

"Good to see your awake Mr. McGarret."

'Mr. McGarret' cringed at the sudden arrival of the voice coming from the door. He would recognize that voice anywhere. That pesky nurse had been haunting his coma dreams since he had gotten here. Even though he was unconscious most of the time he had still felt her constant poking and prodding. From the look on Danny's face he had realized this to and a slow grin was starting to spread over his face.

"Well I'm just going to leave you two to your business; we can finish this discussion later. Oh, and have fun _Mr. McGarret_."

The look on Danny's face could only be described as one of complete and utter joy he had discovered his partner's kryptonite and he was going to gleefully use it as payback. Bastard he thought as his partner made to cheerfully skip out of the door humming the whole way. Danny knew that he hated the sight of a nurse and just the thought of them getting all close and personal with their needles was just too much to bear.

The nurse was steadily coming closer needle in hand; full of something that he was sure was going to knock him out into blissful oblivion. And the women actually had the nerve to actually look excited, like sticking sharp pointy things in people was undeniably fun. Geez Danny would be laughing his ass of right now, but he could swear her eyes were actually glowing red now. What kind of drugs did they have him on anyway?

"Come on Danny; don't leave me in here with her. I thought I was the center of our family, are you just going to let her kill me?"

He shouted, hoping to bring the man back into the room and rescue him from the sadistic nurse.

The sound of cheerful skipping stopped for a moment and Danny's head peeped back around the door. Something that would have been comical if he wasn't in a life threatening situation.

"Come on super seal toughen up. I thought you ate nails and napalm for breakfast, surely a little needle won't hurt."

"You know he's right all of you navy guys are wimps." The nurse said, simultaneously plunging the needle into his arm, "you're going to start to feel drowsy Mr. McGarret. Try not to fight it."

"I hate you Danny." He muttered the drugs already taking affect and trying to force him back into unconsciousness.

"Ya, Ya I'm sure you do. " Danny said as he came back into the room and laying his hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "Just go to sleep we'll be here when you wake up."

He tried to mumble a reply but the weights that were weighing down on his eyes wouldn't let him. He let the darkness take him once again, this time comforted by the fact that his Ohana would be there when he woke up.

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